"We reap what we sow. Stay in the state of grace. Pray the Rosary. Wear the brown scapular. Things are going to get ugly, both in the Church and in the world. Yet, this is no time to cower in fear but to fight in the light of day against those who seek to drag us down to hell. Have no fear!" Fr. Dana Christensen.
It doesn't look like the Douai Abbey Guesthouse will be opening anytime soon to large groups due to the coronovirus. Therefore, sadly the YCA weekend won't be able to go ahead this year.
It is hoped that the weekend will continue next year, in October 2021, presuming that covid-19 has gone/ died off.
The first Wednesday of the month EF Low Mass, at St. Gregory's Church in Cheltenham, will be restarting on Wednesday 2nd September at 7pm - all are warmly welcome.
Old Rite (Extraordinary Form) Masses at Prinknash Abbey August 2020 - Saturday 15th August Feast of the Assumption - Low Mass is at 11am. Followed by the blessings (and procession, weather permitting) and picnic.
Every Sunday Low Mass at 11am - preceeded by confessions at 10:45am (currently taking place in the garden due to Covid-19).
Sadly, the Fatima Shrine has been closed, this year, by the Portuguese government (apparently due to the coronavirus; although the 2020 May Day festivities continued in Lisbon).
So, instead, here is the the candlelit procession from last year.
"Archbishop Vigano has made an astounding claim, that we haven't seen the totality of the third secret. Lifesite news states:-
In a stunning new interview, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the
former papal nuncio in Washington, D.C. and the prelate who accused Pope
Francis of covering up the crimes of Theodore McCarrick, has now
publicly stated that he does not believe that the Vatican up to today
has published the full Third Secret of Fatima. This report has already
found interest in Italy, by outlets such as Corrispondenza Romana and Stilum Curiae.
Speaking to Dies Irae,
a Portuguese website, Archbishop Viganò says, “The third part of the
message that Our Lady entrusted to the shepherds of Fatima, so that they
could deliver it to the Holy Father, remains a secret today.”
In 1917, Our Lady repeatedly appeared to three shepherd children –
two of whom are now canonized – and gave them one secret with three
parts, the first and the second to be revealed to the public.
The third part of the Secret – often called the Third Secret – was to
be given to the Pope, who was then asked by Our Lady to make it known
to the world not later than 1960.
The first and the second parts of the Secret show a vision of hell,
speak about the spread of the “errors” of Russia, the need for penance,
and for Russia to be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The
third part as it has been published shows a Pope who is being killed on a
hill, together with clergymen and laymen.
Further explaining his position, the Italian prelate, who lives
currently in an undisclosed location, then says, “Our Lady asked [the
secret] to be revealed in 1960, but John XXIII published, on February 8
of that year, a statement in which he stated that [...] ‘he does not
want to assume the responsibility of guaranteeing the truth of the
words that the three little shepherds say that the Virgin Mary addressed
to them.’” “With this departure from the Queen of Heaven's message,”
Viganò continues, “a cover-up operation was initiated, evidently because
the content of the message would reveal the terrible conspiracy of her
enemies against the Church of Christ.”
According to the archbishop, until a “few decades ago,” people would
not have believed that we could even dare to “gag” the Blessed Mother,
“but in recent years we have also seen attempts to censor the Gospel
itself, which is the Word of His divine Son.”
The Italian prelate states that the Vatican, when officially presenting the Third Secret to the public in 2000, presented an “incomplete” version. "
"We ask your prayers for the repose of the soul of the Chaplain of the Grand Priory, Monsignor Dr Antony Francis Maximilian Conlon, Grand Cross Conventual Chaplain ad honorem, Cross Pro Piis Meritis, who died yesterday afternoon, fortified by the Rites of Holy Mother Church.
Dr Conlon joined the Order as a Donat of Devotion in 1971, he became a Chaplain in 1980 following his ordination to the Sacred Priesthood, and was appointed Chaplain of the Grand Priory of England at its restoration in 1993, thus the first Chaplain since the Reformation, a post he has held for the last 27 years. He was appointed Grand Cross in 2015.
Educated at the Royal English College in Valladolid and the Venerable English College, Rome, he held a Licence in Church History from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. His PhD, undertaken at Heythrop College, "What Ceremony Else", was on the English Marian Restoration.
He was priest of Westminster Diocese, ordained by Cardinal Hume. Following parish ministry in London, and after a long spell as Chaplain to Newman's Oratory School, Reading, where he made innumerable converts to the Faith, including a future priest, he was Parish Priest of Goring-on-Thames, in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, at the time of his death.
Today, the High Court granted special leave to appeal against a decision of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria and unanimously allowed the appeal. The High Court found that the jury, acting rationally on the whole of the evidence, ought to have entertained a doubt as to the
applicant's guilt with respect to each of the offences for which he was convicted, and ordered that the convictions be quashed and that verdicts of acquittal be entered in their place. "
We know that Lent is a time for
fasting, deepening our prayer life and giving alms.We think of giving alms as giving money
to the poor, and rightfully so, but there are other ways we can give. We can
donate food, clothing or time. The word alms comes from the Greek word
eleemosyne, which means "compassion or pity," and is itself from the
word eleos, which means "mercy." (Vocabulary.com). Reflecting on its original meaning, we
can look to the Spiritual and Corporal Acts of Mercy as guides for our
almsgiving during Lent and hopefully, take these Acts of Mercy into our
everyday life.
The Corporal Acts of Mercy are: feed
the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, cloth the naked,
visit the sick and imprisoned and bury the dead.The Spiritual Acts of Mercy are:
instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, admonish sinners, comfort the
suffering, bear wrongs patiently, forgive offenses willingly, and pray for the
living and the dead.
Applying the Works of
Mercy to Our Lent
Knowing what the Acts of Mercy are, we
can reflect upon them and ask God to tell us which may be our calling. We
cannot, of course, do everyone but God will give us one or two to perform as
our Lenten act of Mercy.
We do not, necessarily, have to take
these lists literally. They can become our guide. Examples are: Feed the hungry
~ give canned goods to a food pantry or volunteer at a soup kitchen, Cloth the
Naked ~Most of us have more clothing than we need. Choose a warm sweater or
jacket and donate it to a shelter or make a survival bag (socks, gloves, a
scarf, etc.) and donate it to a homeless shelter. Visit the sick and imprisoned
~ Because of the Coronavirus, hospitals, and nursing homes are not allowing
visitors and many of us are homebound. We can phone someone who lives alone
just to say hello and ask if they are OK.
Your family is a good place to begin.
Check on a grandparent or elderly relative. Bury the dead ~ Consider someone
you have loved and lost and pray for their souls. Comfort the suffering ~ Call
someone who is going through a difficult time and offer support and prayer. So,
you see that there are many ways to translate these works into acts you can
easily perform and once you begin, you will feel God’s Grace in unimaginable
ways and probably want to continue them throughout the year.
Lent can be Our
Guideline
The acts we are asked to do during Lent
could and should be a guide for how we live throughout the year. Increasing our
prayer life may mean adding devotions we do not usually pray during other times
and we may not choose to continue them after Lent but praying the Stations of the
Cross, for example, can bring us to a deeper understanding of the sufferings of
Our Lord and in this, we may come to a place where we pray more deeply, no
matter what the prayer. Fasting is cleansing for the body as well as the soul
and fasting one day each month may become a part of your spirituality. Fasting
does not necessarily have to be not eating at all or living on bread and water
for a day or longer. You may consider skipping a meal and offering that fast as
a prayer for those who have no food. There are many ways in which Lent can
offer inspiration to increase our prayer life and work to become closer to
Jesus.
Give Thanks
As Catholics, God offers us many ways
to receive His Grace. We are blessed to have Seven Sacraments, Mary as Our
Mother, saints who intercede for us and, most importantly, the Eucharist. Let
us always offer thanks to God for His many blessings and live always in an
attitude of gratitude.